Write your picture book!

  Lilla’s innovative picture book writing course, My Kid Book Pitch, is back as a LIVE course in 2026! Find out more and sign up here.

doorknobpdf2 Make Art That Sells Doorknob special! (+ Last chance this year for Creating Collections for Home Décor)

Doorknob special! (+ Last chance this year for Creating Collections for Home Décor)

In our recent Bootcamp class we shared some brilliant analysis from Margo Tantau into doorknobs. A pretty random, niche item you might think. But what this shows you is that there are literally hundreds of opportunities and products out there for your art. Understanding doorknobs could open the door to new possibilities for you (sorry, we couldn’t resist…) Anyway, we thought we’d share a little peek into the info we posted in Bootcamp…. Aren’t these knobs just delicious? They incorporate so many subtle techniques and finishes, as well as many interesting combinations. They are like little wonderful gems of ideas…miniature product, each and every one. Here’s a quick key so you can practice recognizing what each is made of! Most of the material is glued or screwed into a metal base that has standard threading to be able to be used as a knob or handle. Great options and detail.

MATS Home Decor Student Showcase part 5 {January 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous work that was produced in our January session of Creating Collections for Home Décor *** Kay Wolfersperger This image is a collection of glassware. It is my favorite because the assignment inspired me to explore an unfamiliar substrate. Hearing the inside scoop on manufacturing and learning about surface techniques for glass opened my eyes to all it’s possibilities I had not considered before. How did the Home Décor class help you grow? The home decor class helped me by introducing this question into my approach – how do I take my work from satisfactory to exceptional? Once I was encouraged by Lila to ask myself this question it helped push my work to a more compelling level. What did you discover about yourself?  I discovered that creating collections does

Mara Penny BWPortrait 2015 Make Art That Sells Alumni success 'spotlight' interview with Mara Penny

Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Mara Penny

We are so proud of our Make Art That Sells Alumni, that we are pleased to being a series of spotlight interviews showcasing their successes and artwork. We also ask them to share how the MATS courses have helped them learn and grow. You can see more Alumni Success stories here *** Today, we have an interview with alumni Mara Penny. Mara has taken our Bootcamp twice, MATS B twice, Home Decor, entered the Global Talent Search (made the top 50 in 2015) and attended our Global Art Gathering in the UK Tell us a little about how you got started in art and design.   I’ve been creative my entire life, so I guess I got started the day I was born ;) Lilla always says “People buy your joy.” What brings you joy?’   The creative process itself brings me joy.  When it’s going really well I get into

pictigar.com Make Art That Sells #mymatsprep DAY 5: YOUR IMAGINARY SHOP

#mymatsprep DAY 5: YOUR IMAGINARY SHOP

pictigar.com Complete this sentence. Be weird. Be yourself. Be nutty. Be a child. Once, a long time ago, I owned a special tiny little shop in the town of _____________________. I sold _________________ which everyone loved because __________. The name of my shop was _________________. It was only open on Tuesdays because ______________________. My best-selling item was: _______________ (Draw the shop if you like!) Can’t wait to see you in class. You are now prepared for the course, and hopefully motivated to make your dreamy killer pitch for you own amazing home décor collection with the guidance of expert Margo Tantau and me. Join the fun and show us your images for MATS Prep! –Upload your image on Instagram tagging @makeartthatsells and give it the hashtag #mymatsprep –To see all the fantastic images for MATS prep: Go to the #mymatsprep tag here

IMG 8189 Make Art That Sells #mymatsprep DAY 4: YOUR IMAGINARY ROOM

#mymatsprep DAY 4: YOUR IMAGINARY ROOM

Lilla Rogers Studio conference table and my big thinking throne on the upper right. I made this space exactly how I wanted it. Imagine the coolest room ever. It’s full of gorgeous prints that you love. Abundant colors and patterns fill the space exactly to your liking. There’s a fab chair for you to read in. What does it look like? Give it an ottoman to rest your feet, a special table to hold your coffee, place the perfect lamp on top, a little rug under it all. Now draw it so we can all see what your perfect spot looks like. Use your color palette from day 2. You’ve just created the beginning of a whole product line. We’ll teach you how to present it so that you get the home décor collection of your dreams.   Join the fun and show us your images for MATS Prep! –Upload

MATS Home Decor Student Showcase part 4 {January 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous work that was produced in our January session of Creating Collections for Home Décor *** Kym Orr The items shown are from fabric week with a focus on flora and fauna. My chosen mood board was “La Marina,” a seaside/ocean theme. I tried to capture the look of seaweed in a contemporary way, presenting it alongside other ocean elements, which I then applied to pillows, lampshades, tea towels, and ottomans. This image is my favorite from the course because it most closely represents my style, and I would actually love to own all of the items. How did the Home Décor class help you grow? It helped me see the bigger picture, that my artwork could be applied to a whole world of objects. Seeing my artwork mocked-up on

IMG 5791 Make Art That Sells #mymatsprep DAY 3: WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO WORK FOR THE 5 WEEK INTENSIVE COURSE

#mymatsprep DAY 3: WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO WORK FOR THE 5 WEEK INTENSIVE COURSE

Photo by Lilla Rogers Find a spot where you’ll make art for the course. Is it outdoors? At your art table? At a café? On a balcony in Bermuda? (Ok, maybe your space isn’t a vacation spot. That’s ok.) This is where you’ll be making art for 5 weeks. Make it special and inviting. Add flowers. Line up your supplies. Get a new paint palette. Put your pencils in a kooky vase or can. Show us the photo!   Join the fun and show us your images for MATS Prep! –Upload your image on Instagram tagging @makeartthatsells and give it the hashtag #mymatsprep –To see all the fantastic images for MATS prep: Go to the #mymatsprep tag here

video lillMargo Make Art That Sells Free access to a live review with Lilla Rogers and Margo Tantau!

Free access to a live review with Lilla Rogers and Margo Tantau!

Often, when working on your portfolio in the quiet of your own studio, and sending things out to potential clients in the hope of landing work, it can feel like you are scrabbling in the dark. Is this on trend? Is this what they are looking for? What could I do differently to make it catch someone’s eye? There’s no-one there to answer those key questions for you. Enter the brilliant team of Lilla Rogers and Margo Tantau, who bring you both the view of the art agent (who lands the cool jobs for her artists) and the art director (who buys the art from those artists). Their combined experience of over five decades in the industry, and the placing of art on hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of products, is unparalleled. And today we are offering you the chance to see them in action for free! We are

color combos for MATS prep Make Art That Sells #mymatsprep DAY 2: COLOR COMBINATION PAGE

#mymatsprep DAY 2: COLOR COMBINATION PAGE

Using any medium, put together a few fave color combinations you love. Use at least one gorgeous neutral such as cream, taupe, beige, gray, etc. You can cut out little color squares from magazines, use paint, cut bits of solid colored fabric, work digitally, etc. In class, we’ll provide you with state of the art home decor inspiration boards with gorgeous color palettes in class, but for now, check in on what colors you love. It’ll help you select your board in the course. If you like bright colors, for instance, you’ll know that the bright-colored board is for you to work off of in class. Join the fun and show us your images for MATS Prep! –Upload your image on Instagram tagging @makeartthatsells and give it the hashtag #mymatsprep –To see all the fantastic images for MATS prep: Go to the #mymatsprep tag here

Announcing the winner from the Home Decor Video competition

We love seeing the videos that out MATS Alumni make! In our previous ‘MATS Creating Collections for Home Decor‘ class, we invited our participants to make a one minute video about their experience of the course. Our favorite wins a 1:1 portfolio review and career development chat with Lilla (one hour via Skype at a mutually convenient time)! We are so happy to announce that the winner is Jess Racklyeft and you can watch her wonderful video below! We also wanted to offer an honorable mention to Tina Loeffler. We loved Tina’s creativity and vibe in this video too!   Want a piece of the $60 Billion Home Decor industry? What is home décor? It’s all the gorgeous and/or functional items in your house. It’s a booming market that needs tons of art, with over $60 billion in annual sales. Its massive growth is due in part to the popularity